Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many emergency services network masts will be built in Orkney and Shetland constituency; and what steps she is taking to ensure that mobile phone services are provided from all four mobile network operators at all such sites.

In delivering the Emergency Services Network (ESN), the mobile network operator EE will deliver up to 291 new mast sites. Government will deliver approximately 230 further sites (known as the “Extended Area Services” (EAS) sites) in the most remote and rural areas of Great Britain.

For EAS sites, the principal objective is to provide coverage to meet the needs of the emergency services, but the Home Office is working with the Scottish Government, Welsh Government and DCMS to identify any proposed mast locations which could improve mobile coverage in future, with a view to ensuring these are built to a specification which could accommodate multiple operators.

EE has indicated that it is delivering around 200 new sites in Scotland as part of ESN. In addition there are 104 sites in Scotland that are being considered as part of the Extended Area Services (EAS). Delivery of these sites is subject to planning permission and the acquisition of land. There are currently up to 25 new EE ESN sites proposed in the constituency of Orkney and Shetland, and one EAS site as part of ESN.